The dust began to settle, and groans were heard within. Nico groaned to himself, lying on the ground while his body recovered from the initial aftermath from their attack. He gripped the floor with his gloved hands, his fingers digging into it while he pushed himself upwards, groaning at the feeling of cracking bones throughout his body. His regeneration was already hard at work repairing his body, he could feel it, and his Demonic Power was speeding things up. His mind whirled, his vision hazy, and Nico almost fell onto his backside had he not balanced himself in time while getting to his feet.
When his vision cleared, Nico noticed that Castiel, his companion in this fight, had also stirred into the land of the conscious, and was quickly getting to his feet while muttering curses under his breath. 'Well, looks like he's alright...' the redhead couldn't help but think. Looking around, he finally found Rebellion laying sprawled on the ground, so he bent over and picked it up by the hilt. A rush of joy, thrill and happiness filled him which came from his link with this Devil Arm, emotions that originated from the recent clash they had done with their opponent.
'Ugh... this smarts... haven't felt like this in a while...' He couldn't help but think as his regeneration finished up his internal healing. At least it wasn't as bad as when he lost all his limbs in the Hellverse, THAT had been one hell of an eye opener. Mentally, he checked his reserves, and found that his Demonic Power was at half its reserves, his SP was at a similar level, and his RC Cells were only a quarter used. Made sense, since he hadn't used his Kagune as much as his other energy sources. Still though, this battle hadn't been easy, not as difficult as say the battles with the World Eater Legion, the DPU of Death Mundus, or some of the stronger Demons he had fought throughout Leanbox, but still way up there compared to Abnormals.
'It would be wise to regroup with Emiya, Nico. If by some chance our enemy hasn't been defeated yet, then we must be cautious.'
Biko's words gave Nico pause, his lone eye narrowing as he tried to get a feel for the Scorpion Man's emotional state. If the thing was still alive, a whole load of negative emotions should be coursing through it by now. 'I don't sense anything around here, but I'll keep your word, Biko. Besides, we need to know the condition Emiya is in. If he needs any assistance, we can provide it if necessary.' he thought to his Demon Persona, getting a hum of agreement from him before he cut the link and proceeded to make his way over to the young Heir.
Castiel was doing considerably better, his body was extremely resilient thanks to the new improvements he has gone through and he also activated his personal magic Siegfried so he was mostly fine. His only real problem being that his body was covered in superficial wounds and that he had suffered a contusion making him confused for a while.
Sensing someone approaching, the Heir looked to see Nico walking up to him, and gave a nod of acknowledgement to him. "Nico."
The male curtly gave the same response "Emiya." For a moment, the two remained silent, with the exception of Castiel getting back to is feet and dusting himself off. Then, the redhead turned away as he cast his gaze across the area, searching for any signs of early attack. None came, something that set off alarms in his mind. "You think that the enemy's dead?" Nico questioned, his hands in his leg-wear's pockets while looking about for the remains of their enemy. He didn't think that there was a chance the mission was over, not by a long shot. Nothing had changed, no transport out of this dimension, no 'game complete' screen that he had guessed Zelretch would spawn at the end, nothing, and that was more than enough for him to remain on guard. Also, if anyone was curious, Nico's Armour had receded into its Armour Module by the time he had come too, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.
After recovering from his previous state, Castiel surveyed their surroundings, which were still a bit too dusty to tell, but he had an answer ready for Nico anyways. "Not sure, but if I know Uncle Zelretch, then I bet that this will be some sort of extra to the battle, like the final boss has a stronger form to take type of situation." He then frowned, eyes glimmering as an idea came to him which caused him to turn to face the redhead. "You say that your Spirit Bone has the ability to seal away Skills right? You think you can check to see if it still has it?" Castiel asked. If he was interpreting what little info he knew about Nico's Spirit Bone right, then if it still had the Skill sealed within it would determine their enemy's fate.
That sounded like a promising idea, Nico thought to himself, as he looked down to his right leg. He could feel the weight on his leg that accompanied a Spirit Bone's summoning there, which would mean that it hadn't vanished yet. Therefore, Castiel's idea should work. His gaze found itself on the Spirit Bone itself, and when it did...
They saw that the Spirit Bone was still quivering like it was trying to hold something in.
"Lemme guess, that means that it's ability is still active?"
"I call it 'Blockade', but yeah, which means the enemy is still breathing."
Both boys nodded to each other, their eyes reflecting the seriousness in them. After their brief conversation, both Nico and Castiel quickly got into battle stances, looking throughout the dirt to see where the enemy might be hiding. They hadn't been attacked right away, which hinted at the enemy going for a stealthier approach (well, as stealthy as a human/scorpion hybrid the size of a small car could be, at least).
The air was silent, not a sound in their ears indicating any hostile movement. Their eyes scanned the are around them, searching for even the slightest hint of hostile movement. None of that was found however, and it only caused them to be more on the defensive. The air became deceptively calm, with an intense undertone that layered itself onto their chests like the curse that had been there before. If there was any background music, then it would have to be one that pronounced the ominous tension in the atmosphere.
"You see anything...?" Castiel questioned, making to expand his senses to see if he could feel the enemy's signature. However, he got nothing, and that worried the young Heir. Not only would not sensing the enemy make him think of Serenity's stealth skills (something that intensified his hate for this creature tenfold) but it also provided the Scorpion Man with an ideal opportunity for a surprise attack. Not something he liked to think about considering the ways that it killed that one guy in the movie the mummy returns.
Nico shook his head in denial. "Nothing on my end..." he replied, his head slowly turning from side to side with his lone eye taking in as much detail as he could. Unfortunately, even with this he could not detect anything to indicate a surprise attack, something that deeply unsettled the male. He couldn't sense much either, not with his senses, both normal and emotional, and not even his Armour (which he had deployed for its Motion Tracking abilities) could track anything to do with it. He had Rebellion Tethered to his back, with his Obliteron claws out, illuminating their surroundings.
Neither of them liked this, not one bit. They didn't like how they couldn't sense the Scorpion Man's presence no more, not even a pip from it. It felt wrong, unnaturally so, and that was saying something considering how the Scorpion Man had been during their bout. It had been all physical, violent and always on a rampage, going from one place to another. It didn't move with much intelligence, and both boys had their own ways of confirming their own methods of identifying how much insanity was hindering its thought process.
'This may be not the ideal time, but there was something I noticed before the initial collision.'
'Biko?' Nico questioned, frowning while looking like he was still keeping an eye out. His senses on full alert, his Kagune ready to whip away at anything that showed even remotely small signs of hostility. The instincts of an animal were much more acute than a human's, after all, so he let his body handle that while his mind began focusing on the conversation between himself and his Demon Persona. 'What are you saying...?'
'I'm saying that this is something that only just happened, I noticed it before. Just before we collided, I noticed that this strange power within it quickly activated. It was the millisecond before our weapons clashed, so I couldn't get a good read on it, but I am positive that something has happened. Odds are, Emiya may have noticed as well, he is not someone to have not noticed these things.'
That... did not sound good, not at all.
Now that he thought about it, Nico did recall that there had been something... different about the Scorpion Man right before their collision. It was subtle, so subtle that it was almost like an illusion that a Mage would cast. However, if someone like Biko, who was reliable as all hell, noticed it then he would have to believe him about it.
On his end, Castiel had similar thoughts to his own. The young Heir didn't get it, but there had been something... different about their enemy's signature just before he clashed with it. Not to mention Clarent felt... off, it felt anxious. It felt like a King would hen the King would learn of a great threat to his Kingdom, a threat that may very well topple his castle and reduce the Kingdom to ashes. Throughout history, there have been countless examples of this happening, of tyrannical kings getting toppled by outside forces.
'This feels off...' Castiel thought while hewing non the inside of his gums with his teeth confusion and agitation fighting for dominance within his gut while he gripped Clarent's handle tightly. He could feel himself sweating slightly from his forehead, the tension in the air becoming thicker and thicker with each passing second. His heart beat became harder and harder to maintain, its steady beat slowly dipping into a ragged state. 'I don't like this, something about that collision feels very off. The moment that me and Nico clashed with that Scorpion King clone, I felt something 'erupt' within it just before it happened.' he thought, scowling to himself. If only he had Eevee here, he could go Umbreon Mode and then possibly confirm the feelings that he was getting. Glancing behind him, he noticed the agitated state that the Tentacles and Tails were in, and quickly concluded that Nico felt the same way.
Then...
It happened.
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
"Whoa!"
"Oh shit!"
Castiel and Nico quickly ducked below, getting on all fours to avoid something that flew over their heads. Any second later and they would have lost their heads. Not something they would have wanted for themselves, thank you very much. The moment it passed overhead, it felt like an explosion of thunder right in their earbuds, tearing through both the physical and astral planes of existence. Whatever it was, they couldn't see since it flew so fast, but they could still see how it exploded upon impact with the ground.
Slowly, they got up and looked around, searching for the source of the projectile. None of them thought it wasn't, since it had been launched to kill them utterly dead. Plus, with how close it came to doing just that, neither wanted to take any chances. Yet, none of them got any breaks, for right above them dozens, and literally DOZENS of Magic Circles appeared over them, covering the entire ceiling and aiming right at them. All of them instantly glowed, like the barrels of a gun prepping to be fired.
Instincts saved the two as Castiel switched from Clarent to Hruting, and Nico unleashed his Rinkaku plus his Bikaku Kagune. Good thing too, cause the next second, the two boys got bombarded with a shower of light projectiles. On the move they became, Castiel letting Hruting slice through the particle attacks without letting them get close to him, though there were more than a few close calls. Nico on the other hand parried and slashed with his claws, while his Kagune parried the rest of them. Tentacles and Tails tore through the air like thousands of ravenous canines tearing through some unfortunate prey. Their ears rang with constant exploding sounds, energy laser sounds, and almost made them deaf if they were normal people. Yet, the barrage never ceased, never relented or slowed down. In fact, the longer it went on, the greater the speed, ferocity and intensity became.
Then, just as fast as it came, the barrage ended...
Followed by a blast of wind that forced them to cover their eyes.
By the time the wind ended, Nico and Castiel lowered their arms from their eyes, Nico's Kagune lowering as they turned to where the source of the wind originated. When they did however, their eyes (or eye in Nico's case) almost flew out of their sockets from what they saw.
"Holy..."
"For once, we agree Emiya."
Their eyes lay upon their opponent... or what they THOUGHT was their opponent. Originally they had expected to be the Scorpion Man. However, that was FAR from what they saw. Now, standing before them was this hulking humanoid being of 8 feet tall. It had a pair of Chitin clad legs that ended in sharpened hoofs for kicking. The legs were connected to a muscular upper body reminiscent of the original human section of the Scorpion Man, and at the centre of the stomach was what looked like a hole that ran right through, they could even see right through to the wall behind the being. The shoulders were bare, and just beneath the biceps more chitin could be seen, ending in two large hands. From the base of its spine, the duo saw what looked like a Scorpion Tail protruding from it, swaying lazily behind the being while its face looked exactly like the Scorpion Man's. The same skin tone, the same features, just with a Mask covering the left side of its face that looked reminiscent of a Scorpion's, with the human side of its face sporting an iris-less eye and the mask sporting a single crimson pupil less eye. On its back, was this large greatsword shaped like a Scorpion's Pincer, although the two boys could sense that this was NOT a normal sword.
"Ahhhh... this is much better." the enemy spoke much to their joint surprise, no trace of the animalistic furry he carried present in his tone. "I should thank you two for freeing me from that detestable form I was locked in before."
'This thing... did it just speak?' Nico wondered, something shared with by his companion. His Rinkaku and Bikaku shifted into defensive stances, ready to act in case the enemy were to try something. Rebellion rattled within his grasp, almost quivering in excitement from the thought of fighting a newer opponent. While it sent those emotions to its wielder, Nico couldn't ignore the trepidation in his gut about this, either. 'Biko, has this thing somehow gained intelligence?'
'I am not sure how, but it does indeed to be the case. I sense that its insanity is present, though it does not nearly have the amountof dominance over its rationality as it once did. You two better be cautious, this battle has escalated to a new level, we do not know WHAT this creature is truly capable of.'
Castiel furrowed his brows as he tried to make heads or tails of what had happened here. So far though, all he had gotten was that somehow, that dark sensation he had gotten from this guy had removed the 'shackles' of insanity that bound the creature before. His experiences with curses and mind attacks told him this, as well as that this creature far surpassed its previous form in power. Not just power though, due to the lack of control its insanity had over its mental faculties, it now had greater knowledge on how to use its powers in the most destructive of ways.
If these observations were true, then it would be best to stay on guard.
"Yet, I also should punish you for invading my most glorious home." He spoke once more after spending a moment to look over its new form, experimentally cracking a few limbs to get the kinks out. The sound rivaled that of breaking pipes, sending chills down their spines, and despite looking at the two they got the feeling that he was most certainly talking to himself. "Now, what to do? What to do? ... Oh I just got an idea! I, the Scorpion King Mathayus, will kill you two fast and leave you with full corpses, so your loved ones have something to cry over. Ain't that nice of me?"
And with that the scorpion king launched itself forward with such speed that neither Nico or Castiel had time to react as it reappeared behind the two. Its motions were swift as the wind, yet held the impact of a high level earthquake as it kicked Castiel so fast and strong that if it wasn't for his recent improvement on the body he would have snapped in two. Nico quickly spun around and tried to cut through the enemy with a wide diagonal swing with Rebellion, but it was stopped on the being's arm without leaving more than a slight mark.
'What?!' He could only think while the creature simply shrugged the damage and launched a ball of concentrated crimson crackling energy directly at him. Due to the way that it was launched, the teen quickly realized he had no chance to dodge it, even if he Warped, so Nico used his Bikaku to guard his face, but...
CRACK, SHATTER
It had the adverse effect of breaking his Bikaku Kagune into pieces.
Cursing under his breath, Nico retracted his Bikaku into him so his RC Cells could focus on repairing it, all the while the teen quickly jumped to the side when he saw another concentrated energy ball charge right at him. Another came afterwards, and Nico finally responded to Warping out of the Way, reappearing above the creature with his Rinkaku raised for an overhead slam.
BOOM!
His Rinkaku slammed into the ground with enough force to bend it under the Kagune's weight, the impact force great enough that in his mind, he should have at least done some damage. 'Did I... get him?'
"No, you did not."
His eyes widened as Nico reflexively turned to the source of the voice, only to get a kick to his non-weapon arm that utterly broke it into an unnatural angle. Nico growled in frustration while he got sent flying from the kick, crashing into the ground and bouncing into the air again. The teen used this to right himself though, slamming his Kagune into the ground to stop his motions. Once halted himself, Nico raised two of them to parry the sword that would have cleaved him in two had he not acted as soon as he did.
"You... do not seem to be in pain even after I broke your arm." The creature, no Mathayus, remarked thoughtfully, though it sounded disinterested to the Spec Ops Agent. It's sword constantly quivered while pushing against Nico's Kagune which responded in kind.
Nico rolled his eyes at that while his lips set into a snarl. "Believe me, losing limbs is..." he paused when he felt is arm bend itself back into proper place thanks to his regeneration, allowing him to use it again as he shrugged its shoulder. "Nothing new, I lose them all the time, and that's just Mondays."
Before Mathayus could respond, it sensed someone coming from hits left flank, but made no effort to dodge the strike Clarent made on his unguarded back. Like Rebellion, it didn't seem to be able to pierce his being, much to its wielder's surprise as its Tail thwacked him away. This did give Nico an opportunity to Warp behind his airborne companion and catch him by his leg. "Got you." He stated, flipping Castiel so that he could land on his two feet.
"Thanks." the Heir simply stated, grimacing as he rubbed his shoulder where he got thwacked. He groaned as he felt like the shoulder dislocated, so he applied the training his teachers taught him and quickly moved it into the proper position, a resounding CRACK echoing through the room while he applied healing Blessings to numb the pain.
"... Hardcore."
"Says the person who didn't scream when his arm got broken. Anyways, looks like we have a problem here, our weapons can't pierce this guy's skin." Castiel replied, looking at their opponent who seemed to be more interested in his sword than actually killing them. It completely disregarded them as threats, and honestly that pissed him off more than he cared to admit. But, that didn't mean he would act recklessly. That would lead only to suicide, as they could plainly see. "While it practically mopped the floor with you, I took the chance to observe our new friend a little, so I have a basic idea of his movement patterns."
Nico mentally scowled at the wording, but didn't respond as he listened to Castiel explaining what he knew from their brief clash with this guy. "From what I can tel, this guy likes to use energy attacks to dismember opponents, then go in for the kill with one strike to the vital areas. Most prominently the head, though other areas may be possible depending on the situation. That could mean it isn't as good in prolonged combat as it is in single strike killings, but I'm not holding my breath."
"I noticed something else, to add to your assessment Emiya." the Heir glanced over to the Spec Ops Agent when he heard that. "From what I saw from his energy, it seems that his body naturally condenses a portion of his power over himself, creating this steel-like skin that excels in repelling physical attacks. Odds are its a defensive technique, but like all techniques it has to have a weakness. My guess is that we need to adapt to its energies, cancel each other's energy output before we can land any critical blows on him."
"Or, and hear me out, we hit him REALLY hard and try to pierce his defense." Their suggested, and Nico rolled his eyes at Castiel's words. That did NOT sound like a decent strategy to this guy, and in a bit of role reversal, Nico looked at Castiel like he was the dumb one. "What? Do you honestly want to try to fine tune energy with an enemy with unknown capacity, techniques and that you have never met before?" Now that he thought of that, Castiel did have a point there, hitting something till it dies did seem like an easier situation, but if not then Nico could always amplify his powers to a similar level to their enemy's based off their observations. If it didn't work, then they just had to keep trying till they found a way. "In case you are overwhelmed just run behind me and you will be safe, also don't forget that feather I gave you before." Castiel said, he did not believe that Nico or anyone for that matter could actually pull of this sort of suicidal strategy and honestly he did not want to try his luck. Sometimes, when all tips are out and only a head on confrontation is possible, simple IS better, this is what he learned with one of the greatest hero from all times.
Goku, and it was both the normal version and the abridged one.
Deep down, one of Castiel's dreams is to, when he had enough power, add THE Kamehameha on his list of skills.
In Nico's mind, the teen felt like he was in a war, such was the nature of the thoughts conflicting within him. He could feel his inner Ghoul squealing in delight at the possibility of a straight up fight, something he had expected from it due to its primitive nature. Also, if he were to be honest, simplistic fights were the ones that were the most familiar to him, sine he fought Abnormal monsters often as a Spec Ops Agent. Not to mention, a fight like this was what h e lived for, he was a warrior, a warrior who had been forced to fight in a battle of politics recently, so another battle he was used to in terms of style would be more than welcome.
While Nico was debating with himself Castiel ran ahead. Opening his wings and donning his armor he took out both Hruting and Clarent, the former on his left hand and the latter on his right, and using his fastest speed tried to cut down the enemy.
"Why don't you understand that it is useless?" Mathayus proclaimed while he raised one hand dismissively, swinging it in the form of a backhand... but the results were quite different than before.
SLASH
The fingers of Mathayus went flying, he face revealing surprise from this fact.
"Hard, but still cut-table." Was what Castiel said, his physical strength showing its effectiveness as he followed that slash with a kick that sent Mathayus flying. Castiel than drew on the floor at high speeds, ignoring the fact that Mathayus flew out of the hole he was and launched himself at him with a renewed ferocity.
'A worthy foe...' is what Mathayus thought as he tried to use his blade at Castiel. However, this was not to be since one of Castiel's wings entered in the way of the blade.
CLANCK
The blade was completely and utterly incapable of leaving a single mark at the wing. Honestly speaking Castiel didn't even feel the attack.
"How is this even possible?" is what Mathayus questioned in surprise, and this was the instant that the spell Castiel was preparing got completed.
From the magic circle he made dark currents followed out.
"Binding Resentment Chains" Castiel proclaimed as he jumped back 10 meters as the chains disappeared from Mathayus' body.
"Insignificant trick!" he shouted as he tried to run at Castiel, but whem he was one meter away from Castiel. "Huh?" he went right back to where he was before.
"Did you like this trick? It is a little something I created while researching my curses. I am not proficient enough to activate it instantly but with some small preparations it is plenty possible to use. It is a curse that forces the target to not leave a certain area no matter how much he tries. And now for my next, what did you call, oh yeah my next trick." Castiel said with a evil smile. "Have a taste of one of my original spells! BRIONAC!"
With this shout he activated the spell he was charging from before, creating a focused flame blast so hot that Mathanyus' shoulder was pierced right through, electing from him a grunt of pain.
"And don't worry, there is MORE! failure, weakness, sadness, despair, vanity, hunger, mistake, abandon, greed, misery, decomposition, agony, betrayal, envy, incompetence, loss, cowardice, torture, punishment, death, death, DEATH!" With this series of curses the very air around Mathayus hurt to breath, pain and suffering an all encompassing reality for anyone that even approached that area.
If that wasn't enough, Nico joined in the battle by summoning Soul Edge. Immediately its PREDATOR ability activated, amplifying its energy through its own bloodlust. While running, the male's thoughts briefly went over to the spells that his companion used, his mind quickly coming up with thoughts and ideas about them, their workings and applications. He had to admit. the versatility of these Curses, judging by the effect they had on this enemy of theirs, was something to be feared. The male definitely wanted to find something that either grants him or boosts any kind of resistance to attacks like those in the future, cause their potential on the battlefield was staggering.
Soul Edge, now that he thought about it, had something similar with its BLOOD RAGE and SCORCHING AURA abilities, since they influenced their target's mental state. Same thing with the curses, both of them influence their targets, and depending on their target's mental states their effects can vary. From what he could tell though, these Curses are a lot more numerous than just his few abilities.
Though, unlike them these curses influenced the soul as well. Soul Edge just influenced the mind, which is also powerful in its own right as the mind is the biggest source of human emotion out there.
He ran around the side, making sure to keep far from the enemy while he held Soul Edge at the ready. Th massive sword narrowed its single eyeball towards Mathayus with a deadly glare, the rage overflowing from within its very being. Nico also felt some small amount of bloodlust aimed towards Clarent as well, but he didn't focus on that one. 'Biko, Soul Edge's ranged abilities should work here, right?' He thought to his Demon Persona.
'Indeed they should. From what I can tell, Emiya's spell has a limited range, and those curses he is spouting off like a fangirl ranting about her favorite male character in a videogame seem to impact a certain area as well. If we use Soul Edge's ranged forms, we should have a significant advantage over our enemy.'
That was all he needed to hear, before mentally commanding Soul Edge to do his will. The sword rattled in his grip and a surge of acceptance entered his being from his link to the Devil Arm, before Soul Edge deformed itself into a mass-less state that reformed into its Bow form. For those who don't know, Soul Edge's bow form is of a traditional Longbow, but with demonic flesh for the base, an entrails-like string, and multiple eyes. Stopping all motion, Nico stood tall and drew the string back, Soul Edge swiftly forming an Arrow from its fleshy frame that Nico coated in his weaker Hellfire for good measure. Taking his hand off the string, Nico let loose the Harpoon shaped Arrow and watched it fly true towards its target.
When he noticed it coming, Mathayus frowned under his breath, still weary from those onslaught of Curses. He felt their effects draining quickly though, his insanity empowering his mental strength so that hey don't remain active for long, however the rate that Arrow flew true meant that he wouldn't be able to block it in time. "Fool." Even so, he still felt confident that the flaming arrow wouldn't be able to do anything to him. That boy couldn't damage him once, and yet Mathayus had been able to break his arm in one strike. "Such a primitive weapon won't-"
Unfortunately for him, Mathayus was once again proven wrong the instant the Arrow made contact with his body. To be more specific, his non-weapon arm''s shoulder. His eyes widened as searing pain exploded from the point of impact, the arrow tearing right through the Shoulder area and destroying it, the Hellfire consuming his entire arm along the way. "What?!"
"Soul Edge isn't known as my strongest Devil Arm for nothing, you know!" Nico proclaimed, a dark gleam in his eye behind his Helmet while his Armour clinked from slight movements. "The damage these arrows do normally, is rivaling to the shell of a Tank's main gun. When they are released however, they show their true fangs. The longer the distance between the arrow and target, the stronger the Arrows become as the energies inside them accumulate, leading to them being potentially able to level entire buildings or armies from a safe distance." he stated. "Here, have a few MORE!"
In that instant, Nico unloaded a whole volley of Arrows, each coated with Hellfire till they looked like the volley of bullets from a Gatling Gun. Mathayus quickly got his wits together and became a blur, avoiding the Arrows by a hair lest he let his body suffer the same fate that befell his arm. Every time one of the Arrows nearly grazed him, he felt the fierce heat of the flames that coated them, a heat that could only come from a warrior whose resolve was equal to that of a firestorm. It was like he was looking at the personification of an Infernal deity itself, the raw heat, malice and wrathful intent that he could sense from those flames was enormous.
'Yet another worthy foe...'
At first, he had expected these two to be pure weaklings, nothing even worthy of its time. Its power dwarfed theirs by a wide margin, and they had been unable to fight at full capacity due to fighting him in that detestable form he had been in before. That form of which he had no sanity or control over himself. However, even weakened these two boys managed to cut them.
As such, these two would have to be defeated with the prejudice of a true warrior.
Meanwhile, Castiel eyed the Bow Nico wielded, and furrowed his brows when a realization came to him. "You've been holding out on me." he stated dully. Although he did feel like a hypocrite since he had done the same thing. It looked like they both had powers in their arsenal that they had yet to share, that was what he thought while quickly reinforcing his onslaught, mixing in his Curses as well so that the enemy had a harder time dodging their combined offensive.
"Right back at you." was what Nico countered with before resuming his offensive, releasing 2 Rinkaku Tentacles which were manipulated to be small yet still big enough to pick up Ebony and Ivory to operate them. They added the two pistols into the mix of projectiles to the mix, making his assault ever the harder to avoid for the mask-wearing being.
As a result, the Scorpion King found himself hard pressed to defend against two attacks from different angles. One felt much more demonic, sinister and twisted than the other, while that other felt like a mix of holy and ravenous, like two opposing forces that should not be able to co-exist yet they do at the same time, These two forces constantly pelted away on him, pounding at his defenses both his sword and his iron skin. His sword remained strong due to it being bound to his very being, but his Iron Skin slowly started folding under the pressure, the constant attacks steadily breaking it into pieces. Any longer, and they would soon be able to break through it completely to his flesh just like those attacks before had done.
"ENOUGH!"
Eventually, Mathayus had enough, and with a mighty war cry he unleashed a large energy wave from his body that blew everything back, forcing Nico and Castiel to employ defensive actions. Castiel summoned forth a barrier in front of him, enhanced with reinforcement to withstand the debris while Nico formed a wall of Hellfire in front of him to burn the debris before it could even get close. Soul Edge reformed into its default form, too, ready to be used against their opponent.
By the time the wave ended, both boys lowered their defenses, allowing them to see how tattered and damaged their opponent was. Not only did he lack an arm, but he had scratches and scorch marks all over its body. Some were deep enough to draw blood, while some scorch marks looked like a mix of black and a horrible purple. Still though, the masculine monster remained resolute, defiance dancing in his eyes as he looked down at his blade.
"I grow weary of these petty tricks." Mathayus snarled, before looking up, raising and holding his sword in an offensive stance. "It is clear to me that your blades are capable of cutting me, thus I shall see you both as warriors of which I must defeat. Therefore, it is time that we settle this with nothing but our blades. Show me the strength of your resolve, warriors. But before you do, I will have your names."
"Castiel Emiya."
"...Nico."
Both boys said their name, Castiel first then Nico who followed after reluctantly. Both boys now stood side by side (Nico having teleported to said side by Warping) and were holding their weapons at the ready. Soul Edge, Clarent and Hruting thrummed with power, the first one amplifying itself with its own bloodlust via PREDATOR. Its power filled the air around it, forming a thick miasma that crackled darkly with electricity over the weapon. The feelings of impending doom radiated from the bloodthirsty blade, which looked eager to sink itself into the flesh of its prey, namely Mathayus.
Meanwhile, the holy Clarent and bloodlust-fueled Hruting radiated their own auras, both giving off feelings of royalty and felt like two sides of the same coin, yin and yang, that type of thing yet co-existing through the body of their wielder. Their auras generated feelings of awe, charisma, violence, death and bloodlust all mixed into one grayish package. It was like looking at two sworn enemies, enemies who followed the opposing paths to each other, then decide to team up against the threat of a third party.
All the while, their wielders kept stern gazes at their opponent (Nico's being hidden by is Armour's helmet). Castiel quickly deployed his Golden Foundation Armour, completing the look that they unknowingly were presenting.
Two knight-like figures stood before Mathayus. One looked like he was clearly from royalty with the ferocity of an animal, a mix of elegance and brutality. The golden shine of his Armour glimmered menacingly, yet with an air of leadership and charisma that only a King could possess. It was like looking at someone capable of being the pillar that supported an entire people, a pillar that would be a natural born leader, someone to look up to, someone to rely on when the going got tough... which was mos of the time.
The other, a complete contrast to this holy royal knight: instead of one who projected both royalty and brutality, this Knight looked like one who had came from the battlefields of the infernal hell after conquering countless territories, surviving countless battles against creatures that may could only speak of. Creatures only few could have the privilege of boasting they could defeat. Even then however, this Knight f hell, this Demon, it had slain many in its path of carnage, leaving nothing but blood and gore in his path. Now, this Dark, Devilish Knight from the infernal levels of hell itself, faced off against Mathayus, ready to duke it out with nothing but pure swordsmanship.
Yet, neither realized it, but in Mathayus' eyes, the being noticed that there was a... similarity about them. Something that he did not feel the need to comment as it was not related to the battle that would follow.
With three war cries breaking through their helmets/half Mask, the three charged at each other, starting the final battle.
The first strike went to Castiel, who moved faster thanks to his Wings. He jumped into a spinning disk slash assault, slashing at his opponent while aiming for vital areas. Each one got blocked, parried or missed however, the ones from Hruting always being parried while Clarent either got blocked or missed thanks to the black sword's auto-aim ability. After one such slash, Castiel twisted into a high curve kick to the side of Mathayus' head, but the being just stepped back to dodge it and followed up with a slash to his face.
That one got blocked by Nico, who planted Soul Edge in the way while Castiel jumped backwards just in time, circling around while Nico traded a few blows with his large blade. Soul Edge seemed to fare much better than his other weapons did, it seemed as it would strike with enough force to resist the overwhelming power of Mathayus' blade. By the fifth strike, Nico slid side ways to allow Castiel to jump back into the brawl, swinging at Mathayus' back. However, its long Scorpion Tail blocked his swing before tossing Castiel back.
Sliding to a halt, Castiel looked up to see Mathayus about to make a reverse swing that would have sliced his head off if his Armour wasn't there. Quickly raising Hruting, he blocked the strike before swinging Clarent at his exposed side, only for the being to vanish out of thin air. His eyes quickly widened, searching for any sign of their enemy. Instincts warned him to look up, and he did, just to see the approaching Pincer-shape blade coming down on him with enough force to make a jetliner bend into a V shape.
Fortunately, Castiel rolled out of the way in time, letting the blade pass harmlessly into the ground and creating a resounding shockwave. He dug his wings into the ground upon landing, raising one to block another swing to his chest before Castiel unloaded a snap kick on his enemy's jaw, knocking him back. Using the power amplifying ability Clarent had, the young Heir dashed forth and slammed both blades into his enemy who raised his sword to block. This resulted in the Scorpion King being sent flying across the room.
A red flash appeared just outside his Peripheral vision, making Mathayus look backwards to see Nico having Warped behind him and revers swung Soul Edge upwards. Twisting his body allowed Mathayus to barely block it in time, but he got sent flying into the air as a result. Though, his strike did leave Mathayus disoriented thanks to Soul Edge's own magnified power. He got sent crashing through the roof, but thanks to the curse Castiel placed on him, Mathayus reappeared in a flash of purple in the same spot that he got those chains at.
At that moment, he realized something about these two which made his eyes narrow at them.
'These two...'
Also in that moment, both Nico and Castiel grunted, feeling something wash over them, then the feeling of something being lifted. Like their shoulders felt considerably lighter. Then, came a feeling of weightlessness, like gravity no longer had an effect on them.
"Uh, Nico?" Castiel questioned, arching a brow behind his helmet as a thought occurred to him. He soon began experimentally flapping his wings, and when he did he got the sensation that they were not as hindered as they have been the entire mission. "I'm thinking that we MAY have a bit more of the case of flyingness on our side..."
Nico, whom had felt the same as his companion, quickly accessed his Demonic Powers and activated DDD, transforming into Crimson Soul. He hadn't tried it yet before because he feared what might happen if he did, like what restrictions would be imposed on him if he transformed. After all, his Recon Drone hadn't been able to even hover, so he figured some restrictions would have been applied in a similar manner to his DPU Form. However, if this weightlessness indicated what he and Castiel thought it did, then...
Both boys made mighty leaps, spreading their wings and flapping them for hovering purposes. The result: their flight capabilities kicked in as they flew up towards the Hole Mathayus made when he got sent flying by Soul Edge.
"Looks like our powers of flight have been restored! The limitation's been lifted!" Castiel realized, flaring his wings in a grandiose manner. In all honesty, if his Armour wasn't on, then Castiel's large grin would be clearly visible on his face. He may not have had them for long, but Castiel LOVED his wings. Flight and flying enemies in general always gave him a hard time in the past. It was why really hated those who had wings and used them unfairly against him and any of those under him. Now that he had his OWN wings that would no longer be an issue.
Now however, he just wanted to finish this so he could practice some flying skills. He hadn;t had the chance to do this for a while, now and he wanted to change that.
While he floated alongside his companion, Crimson Soul eyed their opponent, humming in thought. This battle had gone ion way longer than necessary, and it would be too tedious to continue this the way that they have. Simple is better in some situations, but according to his senses, he could sense that this guy wanted to end this battle fast. Therefore he will likely try something large to get them both at the same time. For a moment, the warrior within him cried out in outrage at this, feeling like he was being insulted, but Crimson Soul didn't feel any resentment towards Mathayus for this. Simply due to the fact that he agreed. The time to end this battle had come, it had dragged on for long enough.
Glancing over to Castiel and looking into his eyes through his helmet (though not his emotions as his human self had experience on what that was a bad idea), he saw that the Heir had a similar thought process.
"Emiya." Crimson Soul stated as Soul Edge crackled with energy. He got into a battle stance and activated EVERY power amplifying ability he possessed, including the items he had on him at the moment, before infusing them all into Soul Edge. This made the Devil Arm roar with power, power which released trails of energy across the skies around them. "This fight has gone on long enough. It is time that we end this farce once and for all."
Biko, watching everything through the main aspect's senses,then noticed something, something none of the three had noticed. Interestingly enough,he saw how the golden Scepter that Crimson Soul's human self had picked up, had flew up after them this whole time, though it went unnoticed by the trio, and infused itself with Soul Edge. Why that was, Biko didn't know, but he guessed that it would only be revealed when the last blow landed.
The Heir to the Tower nodded in response, agreeing with his companion. "You bet. Lets finish this, I wanna get outta this heat already. Its killing my tan." he remarked, slight mirth in his tone as he prepared for a strike of his own. He discarded Hruting for this one, putting both hands on Clarent as he began powering up. Golden energy erupted from the blade, roaring from it as it spread across the air like the demonic energies of Soul Edge.
This did not go unnoticed by the Scorpion King, whom raised a brow in interest as he held his blade at the ready. "Hmmm... I see. So you two intend to put everything you have into a single strike. Very well then..." In that instant, crimson energy rolled off the masculine being in waves, sending rippling air waves from his position that collided with the waves Castiel and Crimson Soul were releasing. Behind him, the silhouette of a human Skull formed, its wide eyes hollow sockets while its maw opened and let out a fierce roar. "Allow me to do the same."
"WITH PLEASURE!"
Both boys reared their weapons back, their energies getting increasingly volatile. It was almost like their swords were competing against each other to see which one was the most dangerous. Neither wielder paid much attention to the behavior of their swords however, focusing their gazes solely on their opponent who responded in kind. For a moment, all was tense and silent, as if the forest itself was watching them eagerly awaiting the final conclusion to their duel. It was like watching 3 colossal titans about to duke it out to the death. The level of scale to this battle felt as such to anything or anyone watching.
Finally, they were on each other in a second, swinging their blades at one another.
The moment those blades touched, they were engulfed in a bright light, making it impossible to see what would happen next.
Several moments later, both boys fell to the ground as smoking bodies, landing right before the entrance tot he pyramid and rolling to stop. Both boys had reverted to their regular states, Nico without his DPU Form, Armour, Mask and Devil Arms and Castiel without his wings, Armour and Clarent..
"Ugh..." the redhead teen mused, sitting up while groaning, feeling his regeneration quickly repairing what damage was dealt to his body. Putting his gloved hand on his head, Nico cleared the cobwebs from his brain. "Well, that wasn't unexpected, but still a whole lot better than being dead..." he muttered under his breath before he looked up. His eyes widened when he saw what he did.
On the ground though, Castiel groaned as he too started getting up, casting healing blessings on himself. He didn't have the time to activate Siegfried during the collision, so the damage he got dealt with was more than what he had expected. Good thing that he had eaten that herb as well as bathed in that pool that increased their physical endurance, otherwise he and Nico would have likely bit the dust from the resulting energy eruption.
Glancing over to the red haired male, Castiel noticed him looking upwards and followed his gaze, finding himself looking upon the massive cloud of smoke rising through the air from their collision. His eyes slightly widened at the sight, his mouth becoming 'O' shaped as he witnessed it. "Well... at last that confirms it." he stated, drawing Nico's attention.
"Confirms what?"
"That we kicked that guy's ass."
To further prove the Heir's words, Nico and Castiel noticed a message screen, similar to those one would see on a chat group, appear in front of them. They both had the same message inscribed on them, in big capital letters for them to read as clear as day:
MISSION COMPLETE
POINTS - c: 200 - N: 12000
"Huh?! What is this bullshit?! Why the hell do you have way more points?! that's totally hax!" Castiel exclaimed when he read that part. Irritation and anger roared within his chest at this 'injustice', as in his eyes he had done a whole lot more than what would be worth this amount of points. He should have gained more than what he did, that was what he thought.
Nico hummed in thought, frowning as while he felt happy about the large points for him, he still felt similar to how Castiel was feeling. Though that didn't mean that his ranting didn't annoy him, quite the opposite actually. He just forced himself to think of a possible solution to this problem. In the end, Nico felt that he wouldn't have been able to get as far as he did without Castiel's help, so it felt like he was stealing unfairly from the guy. After a moment of pondering, an idea came to him and Nico turned to the frustrated Heir. "Perhaps its because I killed considerably more enemies than you, even if you dealt with more of the Bounded Fields than I. If we consider this as a game, RPG or hack'n'slash, then I have accumulated more kills than you by a wide margin, therefore I gain more points." he explained.
Castiel made to yell some more, but calmed himself down with forced breathing exercises taught to him when he was a kid, something that his teachers said would help him deal with stressful situations like in politics or with incompetence. The more he thought about it, the more that he began to see the logic behind Nico's assessment. This whole mission was filled with tons of game vibes to him, and hell Zelretch's explanation carried similar vibes to it. That way, seeing as how Nico had killed plenty more than him made him having more points than him made sense, as much as he loathed to admit it. He also felt a little bad at his ranting just now, it was not behavior that was befitting the Heir to the Tower that he was. Fortunately, none of his teachers were around to see this and they never would know.
He'll take this secret to the grave if he had to.
"Still, this does not sit well with me." Nico continued, scowling which drew the Heir's attention. "It does not feel right to take so many points for myself when most of the more important work was done by yourself. I would not have gotten this far if it weren't for your efforts in breaking the Bounded Fields." He admitted, though he didn't like it. Immortality or not, Nico didn't want to experience what it would be like as a disembodied soul waiting to reform. If Castiel's words were to be believed, and he didn't doubt them since he had more experience with them than him, then he would have likely had to experience that pain himself. "Therefore... how about this? Remember that deal we made in the desert? The deal with the information you gave me in exchange for 30% of the catch? How about we revisit that, and say that instead of 30% of the catch, you receive 50% of it, in addition my total points as well. That way you captain a significant reward from something like this."
Much to Nico's surprise however, Castiel shook his head before responding. "No need, that wouldn't be fair to you. You earned those points so keep them, we'll just keep to the established terms before. in any case, we should be able to get back for the next trial, so lets go."
After they confirmed the deal and exchanged the rewards (a tedious affair indeed) Nico and Castiel found themselves back in the same area they first sparred in. They should call it a training area for the time being, maybe even take time to rest in between trials here, but that would be food for thought later. Looking around, they soon found Zelretch standing nearby, looking upon the two with his ever present grandfatherly grin on his face.
"Not bad, not bad you two." He stated, clapping his hands while walking up to them. "You cleared your first trial. A bit later than I had expected, but It seems that would be partially thanks to your little break in that mini desert I built in." He remarked, before giving a sly look to Nico. Said teen raised a brow, doing his utmost to remain the blissfully ignorant person in that matter. He knew what that look meant, but he felt no remorse for 'executing his vengeance' on Castiel's face with his Kagune.
It WAS payback for those lady comments after all.
Castiel pretended not to notice this, while he responded to Zelretch's words. "Well, it was a trip, but nothing we couldn't handle. Say, is it alright if I do something before we continue?" he asked, getting a knowing nod from his Godfather who looked like he knew what Castiel wanted to do before he did. Odds were, that was the truth since the guy DID have some experience under his belt.
Pulling out the Stones he got from those Bounded Fields within he Scorpion King's tomb, the Heir summoned his two Cosmoems. "Hey guys, guess who?" he exclaimed happily, the familiars squealing in joy as they hugged their master in affection. He hugged them back, unable to keep the grin off his face. He had missed all his familiars, and intended to let them know he was ok as soon as he could.
But for now, it was time for them to finish their evolution. Pulling out the Stones, Castiel held them before the two familiars, his smile becoming smaller and more affectionate if it were possible. "Alright guys, I just found something that'll help you two grow big and strong. Here." he said, holding them out before the Cosmoems.
Said Familiars beamed at him, before they pressed their heads against the stones, and became engulfed in bright light. This made Castiel, Nico and Zelretch place one hand over their eyes to shield them from the intensity that the light produced. By the time that the light died down, two beings now stood before the Heir to the Tohsaka Tower.
One of them was a large, white lion. It had a blunt muzzle with a blue-gray nose and pale blue eyes. The top half of its face is a deep blue area that shows a constantly changing starscape. Four yellow spikes framed its head like a crown and two more pairs of spikes adorn either side of its lower jaw, and each spike separates large tufts of the creature's mane. Solid ridges—red nearest the head and yellow farther away—poke out of each tuft along the middle, except on the tufts on its cheeks and chin, with the topmost part wrapping around the tip of the tuft. Overall, its mane creates the impression of a stylized sun. Around each leg is a dark orange band, and there is a black spot on each foot. It has three black toes on each foot with long yellow claws. At the tip of its tail is a large black spot with a thin yellow rim. If someone who had a powerful enough sensing ability tried to track him they would sense this mighty beast as if it was the sun itself as all its light was like the scorching and vibrant light of the sun, alight more fitting for pure combat.
As for the other, it took the form of a large skeletal, legless bat. It had a short snout, dark pink eyes with white centres, and a deep blue area on its upper head that shows a constantly changing starscape. A rigid, raised hood wraps around its head in a crescent shape and drapes around its neck as well. The outside of the hood is yellow, while the inner part that curves around its head was a pattern of deep blue and white streaks. Its torso resembled a rib-cage with a slightly curved spike on each shoulder and three spikes extending from the bottom toward its tail. Its massive wings resembled a bat's wings with the skeleton exposed, except that they have a total of seven "finger bones": four running through each wing, one running along the edge to the outermost tip, and two pointing upwards that may act as claws that are more functional. The four "bones" through the wings were only visible in segments. The skin of the wings is an iridescent deep blue, and a light blue light source appears to glow from behind its rib-cage. A large, pale yellow crescent connects the outermost tip of each wing to the next two inner tips, and the remaining two innermost tips are adorned by yellow, four-pointed stars. The bottom of its tail is also lined by a yellow crescent, with a ridge running up the middle of the tail towards the rib-cage. The light it had was of similar and equal scale to its brother but the nature was that of the moonlight, a gentle but all-encompassing light that could reach everywhere and was much more mysterious but also accepting of change, a light more fit for healing and more mysterious uses instead of head-on confrontations.
"Solgaleo!"
"Lunala!"
Both creatures cried out their names to the heavens, victory and joy in their roars. The sight nearly brought tears into Castiel's eyes as he watched it. The sight of his beloved Familiars finally finishing their evolution definitely felt like a tearjerker to him, and he had to admit that they looked as awesome as all hell. He could only imagine what they could do out in the field, something he would love to find out. "You guys, I'm so freaking proud of you two right now you have no idea!" he exclaimed joyfully, rushing forth and hugging the two. Both familiars beamed happily at the affection displayed by their master and nuzzled him back, showing their appreciation for the gesture. At this moment the three were simply happy that they wouldn't need to worry for each other as much, Castiel knew that the two have grown immenselly strong and already were close to reaching Low Super-Class, the only thing stopping them was that they still needed time to stabilise their energy before reaching that level and even further considering that the Solgaleo and Lunala species were species that naturally reached mid to high Leader-class when fully matured, while the two in question were happy that they would now be able to properly support their master/elder brother/surrogate-father (he had taken care of them since they were eggs, what else to expect?). If someone were to ask if Castiel would say that this trip here was worth it based exclusively in what they managed to obtain already, the perfect evolution of his two familiars was something that Castiel could only laugh in happiness for. The two were strong now, the connection between them and Castiel also intensified and he could sense the power of the sun and moon enter his body and strengthening his light magic, starting to change it fundamentally to unite the light of the sun, moon, and star to reach a more balanced and perfect level. Not that this even registered for Castiel, his familiars, his family in all but blood, was fine and this was all that mattered to him.
While Nico and Zelretch watched the moment, the former looked to the side, feeling a pang of pain in his chest. Not the physical kind, but the emotional kind as the moment reminded him of the people that he had come to care for through their adventures. The people whom had accepted him for who and what he was. They must be worried sick, wondering where the hell he was. Nico had planned to spend some time with them after the whole Mundus incident, and there was a lot they needed to do before they moved to the next landmass, Lowee. So much had happened between them, that it felt like a crime to be away from them for so long.
Deciding to try and focus on something else instead of his companions back in the Devildimension, Nico summoned his OWN in-game reward from that place, the Scepter. Aside for the distraction part, Nico wanted to see if this Scepter had anything worthwhile to know about it, and also if it had anything to do with why that, now that he had a chance to look at his arms, the Bracelet was not there. However, the moment that he did, the teen got the shock of his life when he found something ELSE appearing in a golden flash in front of him, similar to his Devil Arms.
"What the...?" the teen muttered, looking at the weapon in his right hand with a mix of awe, shock, and surprise. Instead of a Scepter, Nico held what looked like a golden SCYTHE. The blade was long and curved, coming off the tip of the snaith at its heel. The snaith itself looks to be made out of golden, and it has two grips protruding from opposite ends that resembled long curving hooks. Its pommel looked reminiscent of the Scepter's main body, golden with intricate designs. Even while he had so many questions floating about in his head regarding this, Nico couldn't help but find this weapon considerably more fitting for him than a Scepter would. He WAS known by the nickname 'Black Reaper' after all.
"Well, looks like my guess paid off."
Looking to Zelretch, whom had been the one to break his concentration, Nico arched a brow at him, curiosity in his eyes on what he meant by that. "What are you talking about?" he questioned, experimentally twirling the Scythe in complex arcs, flips, twists, lunges etc like a dance, while making use of the external grips to perform wheel-like spins. He had to admit, this thing felt pretty good to wield, just like how Harvester did. Eventually, he finished his 'initiation' with the Scythe and tethered it to his back with Demonic Power.
"You see, this item I have been trying to make for a while now, but I never got all the kinks for it. I had to split it into 3 parts, the soul, the grip, and the shaft, Then store them in the Pyramid until I could find a way to complete the weapon. Then, I stumbled on your world after one of my experiments with time went awry, and learned of Devil Arms. Quite the battle tools if I do say so myself..." he explained, looking at Nico knowingly. The teen didn't like the way he looked at him though but made no move to show his displeasure. After all, this guy could do whatever the hell he wanted with the amount of power at his disposal.
Though, Nico DID finally get confirmation that there was another reason as to why Zelretch brought him here.
Fortunately he didn't keep that look forever, choosing to continue the explanation. "My time there, along with my friendship with Sparda, taught me that this weapon would be best operational if it had sentience and intelligence, so I went back, developed a prototype device called a 'Hogyoku', and inserted it into the soul. Unfortunately it was only a prototype not the real thing, so while the completed being would have knowledge of the techniques it held inside, it wouldn't be able to perform them. Even so, the soul still had the power to control the Army of that old codger Anubis, something that, when this Scythe was made, has been inherited along with some of those abilities."
Nico frowned as he took the Scythe from his back, and held it by its shaft in front of him, gazing down at the weapon with contemplating eyes. This information sounded quite interesting, and it made him feel like he was with the WDD back home learning about how different technologies worked. However, there was still more truth to know, hence why he questioned Zelretch again. "Interesting... I won't ask how you created these components, but may I ask how this weapon came into being?"
"Simple, you." the elderly man replied. "You see, since you collected the three components: the Bracelet, the Scepter, and Mathayus' Soul when you killed him with the Scepter infused into your weapon..." Nico made to object to that when he got a confirmation from Biko, who told him about what he noticed during the final battle. Thus, he shut his mouth and let the elderly man continue, "A bonus was triggered: These components fused together in a way that I have been failing to replicate for ages. During the process, it bonded to your own Soul like those bratty Devil Arms you have, allowing it to be used by you and you alone. Its also got the ability to summon forth and control the Army of Anubis thanks to having the Soul of Mathayus inside it, along with a few abilities from the Hyogyoku."
The man then pointed his index finger at it, and a special sealing array formed over the Scythe, much to Nico's surprise as he looked towards the man. "Don't worry, I'm not destroying the Scythe, I wouldn't be able to anyways thanks to it being too integrated into your Soul. If I did, it'd damage you severely and I don't want that. Instead I'm sealing the Army of Anubis so that you can't summon them until AFTER you complete the trials. That army has a LARGE potential within it, and I don't want to have to clean up after them. Those doggies love to shit over everything, I swear..." in the end, the man mumbled that last part to himself as if he had a personal experience with them or something. Something that Nico didn't doubt honestly.
'I have looked it over myself, Nico. It appears that while this weapon is indeed sentient, it is not the same as a Devil Arm. Therefore, this weapon will not try to take you should you show any weakness, nor will it drain your energy. Should another incident like the Berserker Mode happen again, it will not need to be sealed away like the other Devil Arms.'
"... So basically, this guy's got a super-weapon you've been making for a while bonded to his Soul that has the power to summon a literal army of death? Sheesh, you make some weird things, Uncle."
Looking to the side, both men saw Castiel walking up to them, his two Familiars right behind him while his hands remained at his sides. He looked at the new Scythe with a low whistle escaping his lips. "You know that thing's name, at least? A weapon like that has to have a good sounding name." he questioned, Nico and Zelretch drawing their gaze back to it.
"Osiris." Nico stated, bluntly. For a moment he seemed surprised, but then disregarded said emotion. Knowing the name of a weapon instantly after touching it didn't seem so shocking anymore, since he had so many other weapons now.
Zelretch then clapped his hands, getting the attention of the two boys again. "Whelp, this has been a fun little trip, but I must be off. the second trial starts a couple hours from now, so use this time wisely. Access the catalog, train with your buddies, talk, do what you feel is necessary. I'm off to binge watch some One Piece episodes while chewing bubble gum." he spoke, before vanishing out of existence like he normally did...
It was Zelretch, what do you expect?
